Home Care in Kennington, SE11

Yes, JNP Sidona provides home care in Kennington, both visiting care and live-in care. Our office is in Lewisham, not in Lambeth, but Kennington is one of the easier parts of the borough for us to reach, so regular visits are often possible here, subject to having a carer free at the times you need. Everything starts with a free assessment at home and a written care plan.

Two buses from Lewisham stop at the Oval

The 436 and the 185 both run from Lewisham to Oval station and on to Vauxhall, one by way of New Cross, Peckham and Camberwell, the other through Catford, Dulwich and past King's College Hospital. A carer can also take a Southeastern train to London Bridge and change to the Northern line for Kennington or Oval, which is roughly 30 to 40 minutes door to door. Kennington Road and Kennington Lane also carry a long list of other routes, including the 3, 59, 159 and 196.

Driving is harder. Kennington sits inside Lambeth's controlled parking zones, and the council's personal carer's parking permit gives up to three hours in resident or shared-use bays, but it is not valid on housing estates. On Test match and big county days at the Oval the roads round the ground get crowded, so we plan visit times with the fixture list in mind.

Georgian staircases and estate lifts

Kennington's housing comes in two very different kinds, and each causes its own care problems.

• The older terraces. Walcot Square and St Mary's Gardens are late Georgian three-storey terraces, and there are more Georgian and early Victorian terraces on and off Kennington Road. They are tall, the staircases are steep and narrow, and a bathroom is often a floor away from the bedroom. It can be hard to fit a stairlift or move a hoist around in them.
• Duchy of Cornwall homes. The cottages and flats round Courtenay Square are low-rise and on a smaller scale, so there are fewer stairs, but doorways and hallways still need checking for a frame or wheelchair.
• Estates and towers. The Cotton Gardens towers and the other post-war blocks depend on their lifts. If someone is coming home from hospital, check that the lift is working and that a wheelchair fits in it before the discharge date is fixed.

At the assessment we look at how the person actually gets from bed to bathroom to front door, and we build the visits around that. The council's occupational therapists and the AskSARA equipment guide can help with rails, perching stools and bath boards.

How do I get a Lambeth Council care assessment for someone in Kennington?

Kennington is in the London Borough of Lambeth, so the needs assessment comes from Lambeth's Adult Social Care. You can use the council's online referral, or phone 020 7926 5555, choose Adults, then option 1 if the person has no care at present. Have their name, address and date of birth to hand, and ask their permission first if you can. If the council funds care, a financial assessment works out what the person contributes. People who arrange and pay for care themselves can come straight to us, and we quote after the assessment. Our Lambeth home care page covers the borough-wide picture.

St Thomas' Hospital on Westminster Bridge Road is the nearest A&E for Kennington, so many local discharges come from there. Ask the ward to involve us before the discharge date, and see our page on hospital discharge support.

Live-in care and short breaks

A live-in carer needs a bedroom of their own. In Kennington that tends to rule out one-bedroom estate flats and suit the terraced houses and the larger conversions. Family carers who need a break can contact Carers' Hub Lambeth on Brixton Road (020 7501 8970), and the council will carry out a carer's assessment. Respite from us can be extra visits or a short live-in stay.

Care we provide in Kennington

• Personal care
• Medication support
• Home help
• Companionship
• Sit-in service
• Live-in care
• Respite care
• Dementia care
• Complex care
• Palliative care
• Hospital discharge support
• Nail care

What we can help with in Kennington

• Personal care, washing and dressing
• Medication prompting and support
• Meals, laundry and home help
• Companionship and getting out
• Dementia care at home
• Support after a hospital stay
• Short breaks for family carers
• Live-in care when needs grow